Antisemitic origin
Sir: The charge of antisemitism against Arabs is frequently denied by arguing that Arabs themselves are semites and therefore can hardly be antisemitic. However, an examination of 'antisemitism's' origin shows its connotation to be exclusively anti-Jewish. Apparently the term was coined around J880 in Germany by Wilhelm Marr and/or Bernhard Foerster (Nietzsche's brother-in-law) and originally used in Marr's Sieg des Judenturns ueber das Gerntanentum (1873), his Anti- semitische Heise (1879), and in Foerster's 1880 petition to Bismarck to delay Jewish eman- cipation. There is no indication in these that Marr or Foerster had the entire semitic group or anything but Jews in mind when they used the term 'antisemitism'.
Joachim 0. Ronall 333 Central Park West, New York, N.Y. 10025, USA
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